Food

FDA Announces the Voluntary Removal by Industry of Certain Perfluorinated Grease-proofing Agents from the Marketplace

CFSAN Constituent Update

July 2, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that five perfluorinated substances used as grease-proofing agents have been voluntarily removed from interstate commerce by their manufacturers. After recent studies raised safety concerns with one type of perfluorinated chemicals, known as C8 compounds, FDA initiated a comprehensive review of the available data on C8 compounds. As a result of FDA’s initiative, manufacturers of these substances agreed to cease sale of all grease-proofing agents containing C8 perfluorinated compounds into the marketplace. This means that the affected products will no longer be sold for application on paper or paperboard intended for food contact use. This commitment is noted on FDA's Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substance (FCS) Notifications. This Inventory is the main mechanism by which FDA informs both the public and industry of substances regulated through the FCN program. FDA will also conduct a market survey of food packaging to ensure that these compounds are no longer used in material that comes in contact with human or animal food.